The research to be conducted seeks to answer the question: Does the visual system respond to complex configurations of elements by analyzing the individual elements first or by analyzing emergent properties of the whole configuration first? We will approach this question by studying configural effects on perception of equilateral triangles. By varying the nature of the configuration and the elements which compose it, we will attempt to discover the nature of the mechanisms which are responsible for such configural effects. We plan to study the effects of adapting to spatial frequency gratings on perceived pointing of these triangles, and the effects of spatial frequency masking stimuli. Further studies of individual differences will also be conducted to determine the extent to which various biases we have found can be explained by the same mechanism. Our current hypothesis is that "line-detector-like" elements at different levels of spatial resolution are responsible for the effects we have observed, and we plan to pursue this theoretical line in as many ways as possible.